X-Works
by JingleBelle
Summary: Jean's cousin Reagan discovers she is a mutant and comes to live at the mansion. When she and Logan meet sparks fly. Literally. This is my first fanfic and it takes place several months after the first movie.
1. Enter Reagan

Ok folks. This is my first fanfic. Let's see. Disclaimers. I don't own X-men or Marvel or anything like that. But Reagan is my. I invented her, so there. I am not making any money off of this blah, blah, blah . . . You know the drill. Nothing Illegal is going on. At least not to my knowledge. Please don't take a copy of it somewhere with out asking permission first. Thanks, and enjoy! 

The phone rang in the hallway of the Institute and Dr. Jean Grey sighed as it continued to ring. Once again everyone seemed to be waiting for someone else to answer it. The lights in her office flickered in time with the thunder rumbling outside her dark rain lashed window, and she shoved herself away from her desk to answer the persistent ringing, wishing they would get an answering machine. Of course the phone didn't ring all that often she reflected, because the Institute's number was unlisted for a good reason. The fewer people who knew what really went on in Xavier's Institute for Gifted Youngsters the better. She reached the hallway just in time to see Scott rush to the phone and pick it up. She sighed again and headed back to her office. Didn't anyone realize that she had important work to do tonight? Papers to correct and letters to write to all the senators hoping to convince them that forcing Mutants to register was no better than the voting tests in the south of the 1960's. 

"Hey Jean! Wait! It's for you." Scott sounded confused. "How come you never told me you had a cousin with powers before?" He sounded slightly accusing. 

Jean frowned. "That's because I didn't know I had a cousin with powers. I'm the youngest in the family and no one older than me had them. Give me that phone. This must be a joke of some kind."

"Well actually, no Jeanie it isn't a joke."

"Reagan? Is that you? Wha- what are you talking about? How did you get this number?"

"Yes Jeanie it is me," said the happy voice from the other side. You're mom gave me the number when I started complaining about some of the things I've been seeing and feeling. My mom thought I was nuts until she talked to Auntie Lou. Isn't that wonderful? Now we can finally catch up after all these years!" 

"Reagan that _is_ wonderful! Where are you? Do you need someone to come and get you?"

"Actually I'm already here. I just need someone to open the gate. Yes I know it's a surprise. I can see the look on your face. Literally."

Jean frowned. "What do you mean literally?"

"I mean I can see through walls and other stuff too. That's my power. Oh and I have another one too but it's kind of odd, so I'll tell you about it later. You are going to let me in aren't you?" Reagan sounded hopeful. 

Jean's mouth opened and closed a couple of times before she could talk again. "Well yes, I'll let you in. hold on I'll be right there!" She hung up the phone and glanced at Scott. "That was my cousin Reagan. She's coming to stay. I haven't seen her in years! Come on lets go open the gate. Hurry!" She called, and went running down the hall. Scott made sure to grab an umbrella and rushed off after her. 


	2. Enter Dripping Man

Jean pushed the button to open the gate, flung open the front door and rushed towards the little yellow convertible that was maneuvering its way through the gates. Regan opened the door and Jean practically dragged her out off the car and they hugged each other tightly. Scott found them like that a few moments later soaked to the skin rocking back and forth. He needlessly covered them with the umbrella and left to get Reagan's bags from the trunk of the car. He looked at it admiringly. He had always liked little convertibles, especially yellow ones. 

Professor Xavier watched from the doorway, smiling, and called, "Bring them inside Scott. They'll be soaked in no time with or without that umbrella."

Scott motioned them towards the doors and followed them inside to the family room. The two women still had their arms around each other and didn't look like they were planning on letting go anytime soon. As they sat down and the doorway behind them filled with interested looking faces and Scott finally got up to close the door on the protesting youngsters. He stepped back and looked at the door for a second and sure enough an ear appeared in the grain of the wood. He poked it and it disappeared with a muffled ouch from the other side. "No more listening through doors Kitty;" he admonished and then joined the group on the couches again. Jean's cousin was talking excitedly to Professor X. 

"You can't imagine the shock I felt a few weeks ago when I was on a plane and looked down to get something out of my purse and I could see the ground miles below me! Talk about shock, I about passed out then and there. I asked the poor man next to me if he could see it too and he just looked at me like I had another head growing out of my shoulders. It's quite an odd sensation really. Like all building are made out of glass. Any walls that I face and squint at, I can see through, and like Jeanie I have another power too. Look." Reagan held her hands palms up away from her and cupped them slightly. Small flickers of what looked like lightning arched out from her palms to meet in the air between them. Everyone else in the room could feel the hair on their arms and the backs of their necks rise a little, and Reagan's black hair poufed out quite a bit. 

Dr. X spoke first; "It's an electrical current isn't it? Your gift Reagan, must be the ability to manipulate electricity. I have a feeling that you are almost like a human battery. Is that correct? Jean will do some tests on you tomorrow and we can test your abilities then. Now it's getting late. I think it is time for all of us to get some rest and we'll talk more in the morning. Jean, why don't you show Reagan to Logan's room. She can stay there for tonight." He maneuvered his wheel chair to the door and called out over his shoulder, "I can't wait to hear more about you Reagan. You have some interesting abilities. Sleep well." He smiled and wheeled out. 

******

A few hours latter Reagan was just falling asleep. It had been a long week of driving across country and sleeping in the cramped little convertible. The room was small, Jean had explained that it was one of the few single rooms in the Institute, most were in the style of a dormitory with three or four people to a room. The adults, Ororo, Scott, and herself had private rooms and this room had recently belonged to a man named Logan who seemed to have a metal skeleton, claws that came out of his hands and a miraculous ability to heal no matter what happened to him. She had clarified that he had gone to Canada a few months before in search of clues to his past, and no one knew when he might come back. Maybe never. But the room was hers until they cleared another bedroom for her in the morning. 

Reagan dropped off to sleep and was soon dreaming cannibals had attacked her. They had her tied up and were beating the drums and stirring a cooking pot. She woke up in a cold sweat with the sheets twisted around her. The drums were still beating and it dawned on her that they weren't drums at all but someone pounding on the front door downstairs. She glanced down at the floor and squinted slightly to focus. Two floors down, on the main floor, Professor X was opening the front door to admit a man who stood dripping on the carpet. She couldn't hear what they were saying but the Professor seemed to be happy to see Dripping Man. He put his arm around him and the two headed off in the direction of the study. 

An hour latter when she was once again almost asleep the door to her room opened quietly and a figure stood outlined in the doorway. She kept her eyes closed and looked at him from under her lashes. This must be Logan. He sure didn't look any different than anyone else, well, at least not in the dark Reagan conceded. He silently went to the bureau to get some dry clothes and she decided to make sure he was who she thought he was. 

She propped herself up on an elbow and called some sparks to her hand to illuminate the room in a weak purple glow. "You must be Logan."

He whirled around, a surprised look on his face, then he smiled a lazy smile. " Well, well, well. I come back and find a beautiful woman sleeping in my bed. Scoot over, I'll join you."

"Excuse me, but I was not put here for your amusement. I was put here because none of the other rooms are ready and I arrived without any notice, ok? So just take you large ego right out of here and leave me alone." It seemed that having her sleep interrupted twice in just as many hours did not sit well with Reagan. She sent a small wavering burst of electricity in his direction. It fell well short of it's intended target.

"Hey!" _snick_, the claws popped out, "Who are you to --"? 

Ororo knocked quietly on the door, and shushed at them. 

"Don't shush _me_ Storm." Logan grumbled, but he whispered as asked. 

"I see you've met Jean's cousin, Logan." She smiled.

"Jean's -- But -- You're nothing like Jean! Jean's a lady!"

Reagan sucked her breath. That stung, she was _just_ as ladylike as Jean was. Just because she didn't wear dresses often or always talk softly didn't mean she wasn't lady like. This was something she had been putting up with a lot lately from her family, and she Reagan just weasn't up to dealing with it at two in the morning. "You have no right to tell me I'm not a lady!" She hissed. " How dare you, why, you don't even know me!"

"You're in my bed aren't you? What else do I need to know! Why is she here?" This was directed at Storm.

"Reagan is a mutant, just like we are. She came to learn, and like she said before, we didn't know when to expect you back and yours was the only clean room. Tomorrow Reagan can pick out a room for herself --"

"And you can be sure it'll be as far away from you as possible!" Reagan interrupted.

Storm smiled. And you will have yours in the morning. After all, it was only yours for two days Logan. I'll give you some sheets and you can sleep on the pull out bed in the study. Come on, get your things and we'll get out of Reagan's hair."

You can stay for now, but I expect you out of here tomorrow, understand?" He shook his finger at the slim form. "Fine." She shot back, crossing her arms in an obstinate gesture. "I don't like sleeping in other people's beds anyway." With one last smile from Ororo and a glare from Logan they left and closed the door behind them. 

Once in the study Logan found himself thinking about the woman in his room. She may have been Jean's cousin, but she didn't look anything like her, or act much like her either. She was candid and Jean had tact. Jean was tall and had red hair and warm brown eyes. This woman was small, with dark hair and blue eyes and ... and ... He realized that he really couldn't tell much about her in the dark, and that weird purple glow she projected didn't help matters any either. Oh well. It would keep until tomorrow. 

But he fell asleep with the feeling that her eyes were still watching him. Which they were. Regan glared at him through the floor for long moments until he fell asleep, and only then did she sleep herself. 

******

The next morning Logan and Reagan met for the first time in full sunlight at the breakfast table. They were the first ones up. Reagan was eating a bowl of cereal and wrinkled her nose in distaste at the huge slab of bacon Logan was frying at the stove. 

"You're back kind of soon aren't you?" Reagan was feeling much more civil now that she had had several hours of sleep. "Jean told me you might not be back for a few more months yet." 

"Yeah, well they must have forgotten I had the bike." He nodded his head in the direction of the garage. 

Reagan blinked. "You rode a bike through Canada? Are you nuts? No wonder it took you months." Reagan sounded incredulous. The mental image of the short compact man pumping a bicycle through the Canadian Rockies was almost too much for her, but she contained her giggles.

"Yeah. It flies. I'll show it to you latter if you want. It's Cyclops' bike. I stole it." His grin showed lots of teeth. 

"Cyclops? Who is Cyclops, don't tell me we have a one eyed man here too. I won't believe it."

"Cyclops is Scott's nickname. Did you notice that he always wears sunglasses? That's because his eyes are lasers. He gave the train station a new sunroof a few months ago by accident. Bet even _you_ heard about that on the news."

Reagan shook her head no. "So that's why he always wears the glasses. I wondered. He seems nice enough though, and Jeanie adores him." She turned her sunny smile in Logan's direction but he wasn't paying attention. She thought he may have mumbled "Not for long," under his breath, but she couldn't be sure.


	3. Spin the Bottle

Ok kids. You asked for it, so here's some more. Enjoy!

"She's very good." Professor X remarked to Jean Grey.

"Good is an understatement. She flies."

Reagan and Logan were honing their skills on the lawn before Jean, Professor X, Scott and Ororo. Some of the children were clustered behind them watching and talking excitedly about whom would win. Reagan would stand with her back to Logan a hundred feet from him and he would charge intending to impale her on his claws but she was never there. Reagan usually jumped at the last moment right when it looked too late, and when she was high in the air, do a double back tuck and land on the ground behind him, usually trying to throw electricity at him while she was in the air. So far neither had been hit by the other, but they were both covered with a sheen of sweat and breathing hard. 

Reagan was getting angry and she could feel the electricity filling her as it always did when she was about to blow her top. She called all of the electricity into her hands and held it there, gathered into a ball, while she timed Logan's dodges. When she was sure she had him she flung the ball with all her might and caught him square in the chest with it. Logan fell flat on his face. 

"Oh no." Reagan whispered.

She ran over to Logan and turned him over. "Hi beautiful." He smiled hazily up at her. 

"Uh oh," Reagan mumbled. "Jeanie come here, I must have hit him harder than I thought. He's delirious. Fix him. He said I'm beautiful." She propped her hand on he hip and looked down at him disgustedly.

Jean rolled her eyes and leaned over Logan, snapping her fingers in front of his eyes. She started to slap him lightly on the cheeks and pulled back in surprise at the electrical current still running over him. 

"Can't you suck some of that electricity out of him, Reagan?" She asked.

"Sure." Reagan sauntered over to them and cupping her hands in the air above his chest took a deep breath. The energy rushed out of his body and back into hers. 

After a few seconds Logan shook his head and struggled to sit up. "Why do all the women in this place try to kill me?" He asked fuzzily. 

Jean grinned and, with Scott's help walked him back to his room so he could recover in peace. She returned to check on Reagan and told her that she had now joined a notorious list of people that had tried to kill Logan, which was of course, not to be confused with those who just though about it on a daily basis. 

******

Later that night Reagan retired to the bathroom to soak in peace, as was her right as the winner of the day's match. After a leisurely soak she retired to her bedroom and planned to disappear into a book while the others partied several floors below her. She was feeling quite comfy decked out in her rattiest pajamas and slippers. 

Logan saw that her light was on under her door, knocked on the door jam and stuck his head inside. He was surprised that Reagan wasn't dressed as though she was going to a party. "Hey, are you ready to go?" He asked her.

Reagan had been so into her book that she hadn't heard him approach and she jumped. "Huh? The party? No, I'm not going. It's pretty much a dance for the kids, and I don't dance anyway."

"Really? But weren't you a dancer?" He looked confused, as most people do when they find out that most dancers don't know how to dance in whatever is considered the popular way.

Reagan sighed at the thought of explaining once again to another person who didn't understand why she didn't dance. She decided to give him the short version. "I've only danced for people, not with them and to make a long story short, I ain't got no rhythm."

"Oh, well good. Can I hide in here with you then?" Logan asked nervously. "I don't dance either. I wanted to spend some time with you and I was afraid you'd make me dance and I'd make a fool of myself." He looked down at his feet like a guilty schoolboy, and Reagan had to admit that the guilty school boy look was very appealing on Logan, even though she knew he was probably faking it.

"No, I won't make you dance. I promise. But I don't promise not to go downstairs to steal some munchies in a little while."

"Munchies?" He asked.

Reagan rolled her eyes to the heavens. "Yes O Bottomless Pit, munchies. As a matter of fact why don't we go right now before the kids eat it all?"

When Logan nearly ran her down to get out the door, she had to wonder distantly if he wasn't just using her as an excuse to raid the kitchen. But then he had said he wanted to spend time with her. What that was all about Reagan hadn't the foggiest.

When they did get downstairs, Jean ran over to Reagan and began waving her arms franticly at her as though she didn't already have her attention. She and Scott had been chaperoning all the kids by themselves and were having particular trouble with Rogue and Bobby, not to mention that Jean and Scott wanted some time to themselves to enjoy the party too. 

"Reagan you finally came down, thank goodness. It's you and Logan's turn to keep watch. My feet are killing me. We're going to go sit down so you two get to mingle. Maybe you can convince the others to stop egging Rogue to touch them and see how many powers she can handle all at once, and watch those kids playing spin the bottle too. I'm not sure I trust them." With this, Jean took her leave; effectively leaving Reagan nearly cross eyed at her new babysitting job. She was still trying to sort out Jean's hurried instructions when Logan ambled over to her, chewing. 

She explained as best as she could Jean's instructions. Logan grimaced and moved towards the spin the bottle kids so Reagan headed towards Rogue and her followers. She was a bit surprised that he hadn't headed towards Rogue's groupies himself, knowing he liked to look after her. Reagan was in the middle of arguing Bobby out of taking bets when she heard a sudden silence behind her. It was only then that she turned around and noticed that everyone was looking at her, Logan or the bottle, which was suddenly pointing at her. She looked around suspiciously for Jean and found her making for the nearest exit. Reagan thought she looked awfully suspicious. And she couldn't help but notice Logan gleeful expression. He strode purposely towards Reagan as she ineffectually tried to back away. She was being impeded by the wall, as walls are terribly impeding unless your name happens to be Kitty Pryor (in which case they are no problem at all). Logan placed one hand on either side of her head, blocking her exits and leaned in close. She looked up at him, her eyes big. 

Right next to her ear he whispered, "Jean put me up to it. So are you going to let me kiss you or not?"

Over his shoulder she spotted Kitty walking towards them and waving at her. She winked at her and nodded. "Well Logan, I guess you'll just have to catch me first."

"But I've already caught you. Doesn't look like you're going anywhere any time soon to me."

Just then Kitty grabbed Reagan's hand and pulled her through the wall, leaving Logan staring at the empty spot in front of him. There was laughter in the background, but Logan's stormy look quickly silenced it. 


	4. You call that a vacation?

We already knew this was an AU fic and it becomes even more so in this chapter. I confess that I don't know a whole lot about X-Men other than what I've learned from watching the movie umpteen times and reading all of the novels I could find. I've yet to find much in the way of comics, and I know basically nothing about the characters backgrounds, but I'm guessing that Jean is not originally from Colorado Springs, but the Greys come from there in this story. If it bugs you, then send be some background info to work with. : D 

******

A few months later, Professor X wheeled into the study where the X-men had gathered. "Cerebero has detected a new mutant. It is a 15-year-old boy named Ryan Iverson and he lives 

in-" 

"Colorado Springs!" Reagan exclaimed. 

"Yes," Xavier said thoughtfully. "You know him?"

"Uh huh. I went to school with his sister Susie. You remember her don't you Jean? Susie Iverson?"

"Vaguely." Jean replied. "Didn't you two become friends in high school? That was around the time I left to come here. I hardly remember her."

"Since you know the family well, Reagan, why don't you go visit with them and talk to them about letting Ryan join us? If they agree, you can bring him back with you."

"Sure, I'd love to go. I left some things at home that I'd like to bring back with me anyway. I can kill two birds with one stone. Could Jeanie come with me? The family would love to see her again and we really haven't had much time in the last few months to catch up with each other."

"No I need Jean here with me at the moment. Why don't you take ..." He looked at the others in the room speculatively. "Logan. Yes, you go with her Logan. You can protect them both should Magneto decide to go recruiting for the Brotherhood." Reagan and Logan looked at each other in surprise and then turned their disbelieving gazes on the Professor.

"Oh, no Professor. You must be joking! Why... why..." Reagan sputtered.

"Yeah Wheels. I thought you were off your rocker before but now I know I was right. We don't get along at all in case you've forgotten!" Logan had jumped of the couch and was pacing the floor. 

"Yes I know," replied the professor. "That is why you are going together. You can get to know each other better on the way over and back. I believe that if you give yourselves some time you'll become good friends. I also thought you might be able you talk to Ryan, Logan. Tell him about the school from a man's point of view."

Logan finally realized that he really had no choice in the matter. He had been chosen to go and it was the least he could do after all the professor had done for him. The group moved as one to the garage to choose a vehicle for Logan and Reagan. 

Logan's first choice was the Black Bird. It was fast and the sooner they got done the sooner they would get back and the sooner he could get away from being in close quarters with Reagan. He was not relishing the idea of spending even a few hours with her in the confined space of the Black Bird. It was then that Scott reminded him that he didn't know how to fly the Black Bird. Scott had freely offered lessons but because they _were_ coming from Scott, they never progressed very far.

Jean suggested they take Reagan's convertible but taking a better look at it she realized that it didn't have a back seat or much in the way of cargo space either, so it too was ruled out. Then Logan suggested that he go alone, take the bike and bring Ryan back with him. Reagan couldn't help but laugh. The mental picture of Logan bursting into Mrs. Iverson's house claws splayed and demanding she send her son to the Institute was just too much for her. Jean caught on and projected the image into the other's minds and they laughed too. The picture was just too ridiculous. Logan fumed. One claw came out like an index finger and he pointed it at Reagan menacingly. 

"That's enough." He ground out. "We'll take the X-van. That's final." He looked at the others as if daring them to complain. 

"I think that's an excellent choice Logan. The two of you can take turns driving if you wish to get there sooner and there is plenty of room for what ever Reagan and Ryan may choose to bring back with them. You two may start in the morning." With that, the Professor effectively closed the subject.

******

That afternoon Reagan and Logan could be found in heated argument over the rode atlas and their conflicting ideas for a trip itinerary in the den. Logan was sure they could drive straight through meaning they could get there by the next day. Reagan on the other hand had intended the trip to take at least two weeks. She had passed some tourist spots on her way to the Institute and she wanted to stop at them now, even though it would make the trip much longer. Scott leaned over the back of the couch to suggest that Reagan didn't really want to spend two weeks in a small enclosed space with Logan to which she snapped, "Mind your own business Scott. Very little gets between me and tacky tourist traps. They're most of the reason I go on trips at all. So stay out of it."

Scott rolled his eyes behind his glasses, turned off the TV and left them to argue on their own. 

"Honestly." Reagan huffed. "I have no idea what Jeanie sees in that man."

Logan smiled grimly. "At least we agree on that." He muttered. 

"Humm?" Reagan was once again focused on the map in front of her and had lost the thread of the conversation.

Eventually agreed to a compromise. Two days over, three days to stay in Colorado giving Reagan time to visit her family, pack more furniture and still give Mrs. Iverson and Ryan a few days to make a decision. Plus three days to get back to Institute. Reagan was a little put out that she would only be allowed one tourist trap each way, which was added to the bargain by the Professor when she turned rebellious, but even that could not keep the two of them from arguing for long. They would, in fact, argue all the way over and most of the way back from Colorado Springs covering a range of topics from clothing choices to sleeping arrangements to air-conditioning to tasteful manners. 

Whenever Reagan went on car trips she always wore pajamas the entire time. It was much more comfortable. Nice pajamas, but according to Logan, they were pajamas all the same. He didn't want it to look like they were something they weren't. Namely, newlyweds or lovers or something like that. Reagan assured him that no one would assume such a thing as long as they continued to argue, and by the way what was with the ratty looking jeans _he_ was wearing? They should have been cleaned and burned a long time ago. 

This argument led them through the gates of the institute and on their way. Three hours later the next disagreement occurred, this time over the air conditioning. Reagan was convinced that Logan was intentionally trying to freeze her out, so she shut _her_ vents to freeze _him _out instead. He leaned over from behind the steering wheel and opened hers again. She closed them. He opened them. Reagan, growing tired of this nonsense touched a sparking finger to the dashboard intending to drain the power to the air conditioning. She had not been paying attention the last time Scott tried to explain to her what went on under the hood of the car, or she would have realized that the battery was what made everything in the van go. Her sparks hit the battery. The van died. Yes, she definitely should have paid more attention when Scott was teaching her how to disassemble a car. 

They were on a rural road at the moment and there wasn't any traffic other than them. Logan just sat there, staring straight ahead. 

"You hit the battery." He didn't even look at her.

"Seems like it." She said in a small voice. 

"Won't it work the other way?"

"You mean, put the power back into the battery?"

He nodded.

"It would if I had taken it out, but I didn't. I just zapped it. My guess is it was going to die soon anyway. Want me to try though?"

He turned to look at her and Reagan could tell he was using all of his strength to hold back his anger. "What do _you_ think?"

Yikes! If looks could kill, she'd have been six feet under by then. She jumped out of the van and Logan popped the hood. Reagan stood looking at the tangle of hoses and wires and funny looking boxes. Everything was covered with grime. 

"Uhgg, yuck!" She mumbled. If memory served correctly the battery was box shaped. She stabbed her finger at the box experimentally. Nothing happened, not even a spark. "Huh. Well, maybe I just can't see what's happening. Ok! Start her up!" 

Logan turned the key. All she heard was a clicking sound signaling that the battery was indeed still dead. This wasn't working at all. Logan was going to kill her. The electricity just wasn't flowing. She was drained and the only way she knew to get a good surge was when she was angry. 

"Logan come make me angry so I can have a surge and jump-start the battery!" She called.

She had to be kidding, Logan thought. Make her angry? He'd show her angry. 

"All right. Nobody's here. We'll just have a small war. Come and get me." He stepped five paces away and turned his back.

Reagan barred her teeth and accepted the challenge. He wasn't exactly high on her list of favorite people that day. She started a loping run and the last second before she would have run into him she sprung in an aerial over his head to land in front of him, her hands in a defensive position. But she knew it was useless to fight Logan hand to hand. With his metal skeleton it not only hurt when you got hit but when you attacked too. Powers it was. She backed up and let out a few sparks from her fingers in his direction. He dodged. And so continued the mini war Logan dodging the energy Reagan hurled in his direction and she tumbling out of the way of his claws. After a few minutes she began to feel like she was glowing with the electricity building up inside and she walked to the van opened her hands wide and prepared to zap the battery. Logan appeared behind her.

"Just give it a little ok? You don't want to blow up the van, just start it again." 

She sniffed and aimed a short burst at the battery and they could hear the car start. Reagan grinned. "Hey thanks! I couldn't have done it without your help. Wow, I fixed the car!"

Logan grunted and got back in the van. 

"Hey, Logan! Before we go come look at this quick, will you? I don't think this is supposed to be like this."

Logan sighed. "Now what? We've already lost an hour because of you and your sparking fingers. What is it?"

She pointed at one of the hoses that was dripping. "Is it supposed to do that?"

He looked at it closer. "Nope. Go get some duct tape from the emergency box. That should hold it until we get to a mechanic." 

Reagan hurried away and Logan looked at the hose again and sniffed it. She came huffing back with the tape in time to see him burying his nose in the dirty mess under the hood. 

"_What_ are you doing now? Smelling fumes? Come on; let's get out of here. This place is starting to give me the creeps."

As they climbed back in the van, Logan explained that something under the hood didn't smell right. He thought someone had sabotaged the van. Reagan shivered and Logan continued to drive.

******

Late that evening they stopped at a tiny motel in Missouri.

"We stay here tonight." Logan announced, putting the van into park. 

"But it's always full here." Reagan complained. 

"Then why is the vacancy light on?" Logan asked smugly. 

Reagan gave him a dirty look. "The 'No' is probably burned out." She said sourly, but followed him inside anyway. 

Logan sauntered up to the desk and pounded on the bell. A harried little man whose glasses looked liked they pinched his nose hurried out from the back office. His beady little eyes sized them up, Reagan in her now wrinkled pajamas and Logan in his ratty clothes. 

"We need a room." Logan said looking the little man straight in the eye. 

"Two rooms actually." Reagan chimed in from behind him. Logan shot her a hurt look but she ignored him.

"Two rooms huh? We're all out. Full. Booked. Not an empty bed in the place." The little man looked awfully pleased with himself. 

Logan scowled at him. "Then why is the vacancy light on?" He asked.

The little man looked up in surprise. "Oh, the 'No' burned out last week." He answered, as if that explained everything. 

"So you don't have any rooms?" Reagan asked sweetly. "None at all?"

"Nope, little lady, not a one. You might try down the street though. I think they may have a vacancy."

"Thank you." Reagan smiled at him. "Come on Logan," she pulled on his arm. "We'll look down the road a ways. Goodbye!" She called cheerfully back at the man as she practically dragged Logan out of the lobby.

"Told you the sign was burned out." 

"Don't rub it in."

*Reviews are encouraged here*

So please review and don't make me zap you!


	5. Sparks fly

They ended up staying a motel twenty miles away. It only had one room left and it was one with a single bed. Reagan had to plead and beg for a cot but she finally got one. At the time she could have cared less if she slept on the floor or not, she was so tired. Her bags felt like the weighed a ton each. The bathtub looked less than inviting, so she just collapsed into her cot without even changing her clothes, and was promptly wide awake. Logan was too. Even facing the wall she could hear him shifting around in the bed across the room. When she peaked at him, he was reaching for the TV remote. All the hours Reagan had slept in the car caught up to her and she decided to attempt the shower anyway. Besides, it was better then laying awake with the light shining in her eyes while she tried to feign sleep. 

She pulled her overnight bag over to her and dug around in it, searching for her elusive pajamas. She couldn't seem to find the ones she knew she had packed. Reagan's hand brushing something satiny and she pulled out the object and stared at it in disbelief. It was a bright red satin night . . . something. She wasn't even sure what the name of it would be. This was the lavender satin shorts and shirt she had packed, and she feared that she was turning the color of the... thing. Reagan quickly tried to shove it back into the packed bag but it wouldn't go in. Pox on her packing skills!

"What's that?" Logan asked, cocking an eyebrow and looking at her suggestively. 

She glared at him. "_That_ is someone's idea of a joke. A bad one." Evidently the evil eye didn't work on Logan, but that didn't stop Reagan from trying to give it to him. 

"Hey," he held up his hands as if to protect himself and backed away from her. " I had nothing to do with that. I've never been in your dresser, I don't even know what's in there. And if you won't let me carry your bags when would I have found the time to do something like that? It was probably Jean." He smirked.

Reagan sighed. "It must have been. At least she didn't pack the black one." She mumbled. 

"Wait, black one? What does it look like?" He asked curiously. 

Reagan grabbed the other, more appropriate pj's from her bag and flung the red satin thing in his face. "It was a gag gift. And you'll never find out what it looks like unless we get married." The bathroom door slammed shut behind her. "And that'll never happen!" She yelled through the door. 

The warm water in the shower calmed Reagan down enough that she could laugh at the joke Jean had played on her, and changing out of her cruddy clothes felt great. After towel drying her hair, Reagan peeped into the main room. Evidently Logan had decided to go to bed and had shut the lights off. Reagan shut of the bathroom light and shuffled over to her bed without waiting for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. 

Bad idea. Misjudging the size of the room she only took a couple of steps before crashing into Logan's bed and whacking her foot on it. 

"Ouch!" She mumbled, hopping around in circles as if that would make the pain go away. While her back was to the bed she stepped on one of Logan's socks and tipped over backwards. Strong arms grabbed her around the waist in the darkness. She struggled to get away from them but they just pulled her in and deposited her on the edge of the bed. 

Logan flipped on the light to make sure she was alright. "You OK?" He asked. 

"I'm fine," Reagan ground out as she jumped up from the and limped in a very undignified way across the room to her cot. 

"Yeah well, use a light next time will ya?"

"Excuse me for not wanting to wake you up. I was trying to be polite." She said stiffly.

Polite? She was trying to be polite? Logan couldn't believe it. Reagan was usually polite to other people. Well, all other people except him, it seemed. But she had actually sounded concerned for his well being. Amazing. This was a side of Reagan he had rarely seen before, but he liked it. "Yeah well, next time remember that waking up by nearly being thrown out of my bed is not as preferable as being awakened by a light." 

Reagan only grunted in reply. Logan grinned and flipped off the light again. Before she got into bed she fumbled around in the dark for an old stuffed animal that traveled everywhere with her and snuggled down to rest. At least until Logan's words jarred her awake.

"You know this bed is awfully big for just one person. Cold too. I could use someone else in here to take up some space."

Reagan stiffened, and then smiled sneakily. "Are you lonesome Logan?" She whispered seductively. 

"As a matter of fact, I am in need of some feminine companionship right now." He answered, grinning, hands behind his head.

"Well I know someone who is just dying to help you out." She said in a silky voice.

He rolled over; head propped on his hand and smiled in her direction in the darkness. "Like who?" He whispered. 

"Why Bear of course." She said innocently, now in her normal voice. "Here, catch." 

Something small and fuzzy bounced off of his chest. He picked it up and could just make out the outline of the stuffed animal in the darkness. He grinned. 

"Wasn't what I had in mind, but it'll do." He murmured ruefully.

"Sleep well Logan." Reagan smiled, rolled over and fell asleep. 

******

After two days of driving, arguments and tense silences occasionally interrupted by brief flirtation, Logan and Reagan finally reached Colorado Springs. Their first stop after leaving their things with Reagan's mom was to Ryan's house. Mrs. Iverson was thrilled to Reagan and her "young man." From experience, Reagan knew it was useless to proclaim otherwise. Mrs. Iverson would just worry the subject to death and they would never get anywhere on the subject of Ryan's gift. After a few pleasantries Reagan decided it was time to get down to business. 

"Mrs. Iverson, the reason we really came here today was to talk to you about Ryan."

"Oh? Would you like me to call him in?" She asked. 

"No, not right now, Mrs. Iverson, maybe in a few minutes. First, would you listen to me for a minute and not interrupt please?"

When the older woman nodded Reagan continued. "I've heard that Ryan has been developing a special gift lately. Telekinesis." 

"Mrs. Iverson blanched. "Just what are you suggesting Reagan?" She asked stiffly. "That my Ryan is... is a mutant? Just what is this all about?"

"Mrs. Iverson," Reagan asked carefully, "do you remember my cousin Jeanie, and how my Auntie Lou sent her away to a private school in the middle of the year when she was eleven?"

Mrs. Iverson nodded. 

"Well it was because Jeanie was developing some interesting talents. She is not only telekinetic, but she also has some telepathy skills. Professor Xavier taught her how to control her gifts and now she is teaching others with many different kinds of gifts. You might also remember that I was always a late bloomer growing up. Well a few months ago I discovered that I have gifts too. I joined Jean at Professor Xavier's Institute and he is also teaching me to control my gifts. We were wondering if you might consider sending Ryan there. Most of the children at the Institute are his age. We all live in a mansion with extensive grounds. All of the children are taught regular school subjects along with how to control their powers and how to use them for good. All of this in a home environment surrounded by others that are going through the same changes that Ryan is."

She explained most people's actions when they hear about mutants and about Magneto. After assuring Mrs. Iverson that Ryan would be safer in the Institute than anywhere else, Mrs. Iverson started to look vaguely interested. She looked confused when Reagan tried to explain that Ryan's gifts were caused by a mutation on the genetic level, but when Reagan explained that she personally thought that these were gifts from God to combat a new evil in the world Mrs. Iverson nodded in new understanding. 

"You said that you have these powers too? What are yours?" She asked, interested. 

"Well, one of my powers is the ability to see through nonliving things. Like wood and concrete." She squinted at the wall behind Mrs. Iverson's head. "For instance, behind you in the kitchen, Ryan is eating Oreo's and is trying to move the glass of milk to him with his mind. It's working too." She watched for a second more. "Oops. He's lost it." This was followed by the sound of breaking glass. Mrs. Iverson jumped slightly. They could hear a "Sorry Mom, I'll clean it up!" From the other room. Mrs. Iverson looked at Reagan in a new light. 

"You said you have two? What is the other one?"

"Well, I have a slight control of electricity." She leaned over and touched the lamp next to her and all the lights went out. Then Reagan cupped her hands, which had begun to glow and tiny sparks arched up to meet over her hands. "I can also throw it at people and," She smiled ruefully at Logan, "It works pretty well to start car batteries too." She leaned over and touched the lamp again, restoring power to the room once more. 

"And him," Mrs. Iverson pointed to Logan. "What's his gift?" 

Logan grinned, stood up and brought out his claws. Mrs. Iverson jumped again and mumbled "Oh my!" 

"Now watch this." Reagan commanded. She leaned over and poked a sparking finger at Logan's arm. He yelped and his hair stood slightly on end. Reagan grinned wickedly. Since Logan's skeleton was covered with metal just touching him when the electricity was flowing could give him quite a jolt. To Logan it was like receiving a static shock to his entire body. It wasn't something he appreciated and now he glared at Reagan, rubbing his arm where she had touched him. She had discovered it on their trip and it had resulted in three hours of silence. Reagan was quite pleased with this result and silently vowed to use this when ever he got too annoying, which, on the bright side, might be often. 

Reagan explained to Mrs. Iverson that Logan had regenerative abilities and could heal from any wound. She also explained about the claws and his metal body, and tied that into how Ryan would be much safer at the Institute. She didn't really like using scare tactics, but this was important. She finished by reminding Mrs. Iverson one last time about Rogue's near miss a few months ago. That seemed to be the clincher for Mrs. Iverson. 

A few minutes later Reagan excused herself and Logan so Mrs. Iverson could think over their proposition and talk to Ryan, reminding her that they would only be in town for a few days and could be reached at her mom's house. With that they left to find something to eat and Reagan tried to convince Logan to go shopping with her. She wanted to visit some of the stores she couldn't find in Westchester. He only agreed when Reagan's mother started talking in earnest about marriage and looking at him pointedly.


	6. Colorado and Homecoming

Thanks for the reviews guys! All five of you! As you may have guessed, I'm not planning on updating until I get a review for the last uploaded chapter. Just so I know that _someone_ is reading it. So if you want more, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW. I'm open to suggestions too, I just don't promise that I'll always use them because I have some idea where I want the story to go, just not all of the details. Yet. I'm working on it. I promise. Though once school starts again all bets are off, but I'll see what I can manage between O-Chem sessions. 

Another note, my southern accent only gets practice on vacation, so if Rogue's goes in and out please forgive me. 

And Equus, thanks so much for reviewing, and leaving such a nice long one too. : D

******

Logan tried to sniff appreciatively at the smell of hamburgers flowing down the street. Reagan was taking him to the best hamburger joint in town for putting up with her conniving mother and neighbors for the past few days. He _tried_ to smell the hamburgers, try being the key word, because Reagan was wearing an absolute cloud of hyacinth perfume. He sneezed. Reagan was a definite mystery. He'd never seen her so dressed up in the few months he had known her. She was much more of a casual type of woman, but not today. Today she wore a knee length skirt, sweater and clumpy sandals. The noise was getting on his nerves, but he had to admit she looked good in that skirt. It he didn't know better, he's have thought she was dressing up for him. If she didn't hate his guts. 

Reagan was pointing out Pikes Peak to him when they unceremoniously ran into someone. Logan put out his hand to steady her when the man they had run into started speaking.

"Reagan? Reagan Grey? It is you! Hey!" He exclaimed, grabbing Reagan around the waist and pulling her to his side, "Get your hands off of my girl!"

Logan stepped back, surprised. This was the second time that someone had warned him to stay away from one of the Grey girls. And this time he hadn't even been asking for it. 

Reagan removed the guy's arm from around her waist and turned to face him. Her expression was icy. "Jerry. I should have known. There's a few things you seem to have forgotten in the last few years since we've seen each other. First, I'm not your anything. Not your friend, your acquaintance and especially NOT your girl. Nor will I ever be. Second, Logan wasn't doing anything wrong. He was making sure that I didn't fall down after you so rudely ran into us. Just -- leave me alone! And you," Reagan pointed her finger at Logan, "You're on my list too. You can find your own way home. I'm leaving." Reagan through her hands up in the air and stalked off, sandals clumping all the way and leaving a small cloud of perfume in her wake. 

Had she realized, Reagan would have been even more upset. That morning, with very little urging from her mother, she had gotten up early and taken special pains with her appearance, going so far as to put a skirt -- an unheard of phenomenon -- curled and sprayed her hair and put on a small bottle's worth of perfume. If Logan had noticed he didn't say anything. Stomping into the house, Reagan threw the screen door open, narrowly missing her mother and headed full steam to her room. Mrs. Grey came hurrying after her and questioned her through the closed door.

"He didn't notice?" She asked.

"Notice?" Came the muffled reply, "Not only did he not notice, we ran into Jerry. Remember him? He's just as grabby as before. I felt like zapping them both. It would have been awfully satisfying. Uuuggh. I'm getting a shower. And I'm never leaving this room again. I'm so embarrassed!" Her mother smiled and headed back to the kitchen intent on what snacks she the occasion called for. There was always some comfort in food. 

After her shower Reagan felt a little better. She braided her hair into pigtails, put on her oldest and most comfortable clothes, and contemplated painting her toenails as a sort of therapy, but decided that the one she already had in mind would be more effective. Dumping the contents of the tiny purse she had carried earlier on to the bed, she picked out what she needed and dumped it all into what she called her "parachuting behind enemy lines purse," so named for her belief that she could pack anything she could possibly need for said occasion into it.

As she walked out of the house her mother handed her a sack without even looking as she continued chopping vegetables for dinner. The whole exchange took place in silence with the experience of a well-practiced maneuver. 

Reagan's destination was to her favorite stress reliever, The Corner Store, a bookshop just a few blocks away. She spent so much time there that the staff kept a coffee cup with her name on it for her use. She sighed as she walked through the door. Just being there among the books already had her feeling calmer; gazing at multi colored book binding as far as the eye could see.

Three hours, two cups of hot chocolate and five new purchases later Logan found her sitting Indian style in the Sci-Fi section, browsing among the sizeable Star Wars collection. She was shelving some books and deep in conversation with a man. Logan hoped ferverently that this one wouldn't tell him to stay away from Reagan too though it was possible. The guy was practically drooling on her. 

"Hey." He said. Reagan jumped and flushed. She was still angry, but not so much at him. Mostly at herself for allowing the flush of pleasure at seeing him again. 

"Hi." She said tightly. 

"Your mom sent me."

"Well gee, that's a surprise." Reagan mumbled.

"She has dinner ready and she won't let me eat until you come back." 

"So that's why you came looking for me, you were hungry. Alright," she sighed. "Ill come when I'm finished shelving these."

"Whose yer friend?"

"Oh, sorry. Logan, Terry. Terry, Logan." She introduced them. "Now shoo both of you so we can get home before Mom's dinner gets cold."

Both men backed out of the aisle. Logan threw his arm around Terry's shoulder and squeezed. Hard. Terry looked at him in surprise and started to go down under the weight of Logan's arm. "Stay away from my girl will you?" Logan asked.

Terry nodded quickly and skittered away. Reagan joined Logan shortly there after in the aisle. "Where's Terry go?" She asked. "I was going to tell him good bye."

"Guess I scared the little weasel off."

"Good." Reagan grimaced. "He _is_ a weasel." She looked surprised that the two of them had actually come to agreement on something. "Let's go home. I have a feeling Mom made all of your favorites."

******

"Are we there yet?" Ryan asked for the umpteenth time in the last hour. It had only taken he and his mother a day to decide that it would be in his best interest to go to the Institute, and he was ensconced in the backseat of the van, surrounded by bags and boxes of his and Reagan's things. 

"No. We are _not_ there yet. What's _with _you anyway Ryan? I thought kids out grew out of 'Are we there yet' when they were about ten. You can read a map, you tell _me_ how close we are." Regan said, shortly. She was beginning to remember why she and Susie had tried to loose him so much when they were kids.

"Are you kidding? My generation has a notoriously short attention span. That's why we're the 'now' generation." Ryan replied smugly.

"Oh, please. We're all the same generation. I'm only twenty-five for heaven's sake. And Logan is-- well Logan may not be the same generation as us. How old are you anyway Logan? You don't look a day over thirty."

Logan shot her an odd look. "I don't know. I could be over a hundred for all I know. I don't feel any older than thirty. Don't look it either, so I must be thirty." Reagan decided that this was not going to turn into a conversation or even a decent argument and let the subject drop.

"Are we --"

"You ask one more time kid, and you can walk the rest of the way to the Institute." Logan growled.

"Don't you have a gameboy or something like that to occupy yourself? How about a book?" Reagan asked.

"Nope. I get carsick if I read or play a game. And I left my gameboy at home anyway. I forgot it." He frowned. 

"Well, we can write to your mom and she can send it to the Institute for you later. "Here," She handed him her personal CD player. "Listen to this for a while."

"What is it?" He asked, suspicious. 

"Newsboys. Now hush and listen." 

The CD kept Ryan mercifully quiet for most of an hour and by then they had nearly reached the Institute. They started pointing out places of interest on the grounds of the mansion and told him some of the backgrounds of the students who that were milling around the grounds. 

"There's Rogue." Reagan pointed.

Logan honked the horn and Rogue came running up to the van.

"You're back!" She cried. "I knew y'all would be back today. Stop Logan and let me in, ah want to hear everthin' y'all did and what you saw. Oh, hello! You must be Ryan." She shook his hand shyly.

Rogue was better at explaining who everyone was because out of those in the car she was by far the senior resident at the Institute. She explained what classes were like, sleeping arrangements and pointers on how not to lie to Professor X. After all, he could read minds and find out the truth anyway. They talked about powers and how it felt to finally be around others that were experiencing the same weird changes.

Logan explained that the whole trip had been uneventful except when they found the leaking hose, but it had been easily fixed, and nothing else unusual happened. Reagan noticed that he didn't mention her killing the van almost before they got started. She spoke excitedly about visiting her family. Logan complained about all the stuff she made him haul to the van, making a big ta -do about bringing a computer and wall hangings and enough CD's for an army. 

Reagan sniffed. "The professor wants me to teach some dance and stretching classes. How could I possibly do that if I don't have the right music?"

Logan looked back at Ryan and the two rolled their eyes at the mention of "dance classes," but Rogue seemed to think it was a great idea. "Just think of how much better we'll be able to fight if we're all more limber. You could take it too Logan. Remember when you were fighting Mystique and she almost beat you because she was so much more limber? It's the same way when you and Reagan practice, or really... you and anyone. It might be good for you Logan. You're fast and strong, but Reagan's classes should help a lot. Besides," she poked him in the shoulder; "you'll get to spend more time with Regan that way." 

He grunted a negative response. "I'm not going to take some sissy ballet class for anyone." He mumbled.

"What was that Logan?" Reagan asked brightly. "You've always wanted to take ballet but never had the courage? I really wasn't planning on teaching ballet, I'm not really big on it myself, but since you're so enthusiastic I may be able to give you some private lessons if you ask nicely."

Logan reddened and there were loud snickers from the vicinity of the back seat. This conversation was getting way too out of control from his way of thinking. 

"Sorry Logan," Reagan replied sounding none too repentant. "I wasn't planning on teaching much dance anyway, mostly just stretching and acro. We could all do with some more of those. I'm sure you're really a very limber man anyway. Half the men I know can hardly touch their toes, so obviously you're way ahead of them. Besides you might not have any choice. Professor X said he was thinking of making my classes mandatory for all of the students --"

"I'm not a student," Logan interrupted.

"-- And for the senior X-men as well. You didn't let me finish." 

Logan grumbled some more but was saved from any further torment because they had reached the Institute. 


	7. Interlude

This is just a short one, and really has nothing to do with the story, but the mental picture it gave me was just too beautiful to pass up. I had to share. So here it is folks, Logan in ballet class. You did ask for it Equus. See what happens when you ask? 

******

Logan peeked around his door to see if anyone was watching. According to the clock in his room, Reagan's first dance class started five minutes ago. He was supposed to be in there with all of the other X-Men, but there was no way anyone was getting _him_ in some pansy ballet class, or whatever it was they called it. Acro or some junk like that. Stretching. Huh. He didn't need any stretching. He could touch his toes just fine thank you. He stretched enough in his martial arts practices. No sissy dance classes for _him_, no sir. 

Logan continued to repeat this and several other mantras through his mind for the next ten minutes. He figured that if no one had noticed his absence by fifteen minutes into the class he could get away just fine. He was just starting to inch out the door when he smelled something that didn't belong in his hallway. Perfume. Jean's perfume. And 'Ro's and that smelly stuff One Eye wore. Reagan had stopped wearing perfume after that fateful day in Colorado. But he knew she would be there too. They were after him. He knew it. And he had no way out. 

Hurriedly he looked around the room for someplace to hide, for the first time cursing his nearly Spartan room. His closet was too small and would be the first place they'd look anyway. So... it was under the bed, he decided. At least it would be know that he had been dragged kicking and screaming out of his. room. 

Seconds after he had pulled himself under, he heard them enter the room. They stopped as one and Logan heard Regan say, "Logan, you're late for class. The Professor says that it's mandatory. And if you won't come on your own, we're prepared to use brute force to take you whether you like it or not. Oh, and your foot is sticking out."

He didn't move, but he could hear Reagan sigh. "All right, you asked for it." She said. "Get him out Jeanie."

The bed began to shake and it slid away from him. He tried to roll with it, but that wasn't happening either. He felt himself being tugged out away from the wall and into the air. His claws weren't working either. Not that they would do him a lot of good since he couldn't grab a hold of anything. Somehow Jean was keeping them in his hands. She probably didn't want him shredding the professor's nice carpet, he thought sourly. 

The group of five trudged down the hall to the elevator, which they took to the first floor, where a room had been made into a studio for Reagan's classes. Logan didn't even have the option of yelling bloody murder because Reagan had placed a gag in his mouth before they even exited his room. All he would do was glare at them, which he did, unceasingly. Several students stared wide-eyed as the group made their way down the stairway, to the first floor. They could have taken the elevator all the way down, but Reagan really did feel that Logan needed a little humiliation in his life. 

Once in the studio Jean left Logan floating just above the floor and she silently followed Reagan to a cabinet. They pulled out a large pink tutu and bodice, ballet slippers, and the crowning glory, a tiara. Once they had Logan outfitted, Ororo turned on the Sugarplum Fairy music from Nutcracker, and Reagan began to dance to it. Jean made sure that Logan followed her every move, like a drunken puppet bobbing around behind her, six inches above the ground. Scott made sure the camcorder was on and sat back to watch the show. 

******

When Logan's humiliation was complete, and the song ran down, the camcorder was turned off and the tape in it was hidden safely away. Reagan and her class walked out of the room and bolted the door. The four of them quickly ran from the first floor and dispersed into different parts of the house. Only then did Jean release Logan. Reagan positioned herself three floors above her studio, peered through the floors and gave a running commentary on Logan's exploits, as he attempted to rid himself of his ballerina costume and shredded the camcorder. Jean projected the images to Scott and 'Ro. 

Somehow, he managed to miss the tiara as he slashed his way out of the costume and came tearing out of the studio with it still on. It took several minutes for him to see through his rage and actually realize what all of the students he ran into here howling about, before he ripped it off of his head and through it at one them. 


	8. New Girl and Nightmares

A few months after the trip to get Ryan, everyone was pretty much settling in at the Institute. Jean got a sappy look on her face whenever the word "marriage" came up in conversation, while Scott looked like he wanted to hide. There was a lot of eye rolling going on when ever the two were in the same room together. Reagan's dance classes were a huge success with the students, (well, most of them. The guys still weren't to wild about taking them but it did give them an opportunity to watch the girls prance around in their leotards) and Logan, though still not happy about going did not need to actually be carried to class anymore and he had yet to get her back for the humiliation she and the others had put him through on the first day. It appeared that the classes were responsible for the higher scores in Danger Room sessions, so Professor Xavier was happy too. Everything was going on swimmingly until one fall morning when goodness and light showed up on their doorstep. 

Ororo had gone outside on one of her early morning meditation sessions and had tripped over something that was sitting in the doorway. A large bundle, that when unwrapped revealed a young woman. She was all golden, from the top of her curly head down to the sparkly nail polish on her toes. She slept so soundly that she didn't even notice all of the commotion she was causing until Logan laid her on the couch in the den. All of the X-Men were gathered around the couch just looking at her in disbelief when she opened her eyes. 

They were blue and so big they about swallowed up her entire face. She blinked a couple of times, stretched, and focused on Logan. And she smiled up at him like he was her hero, and he smiled back. Reagan squashed a little tendril of jealousy before it could grow. 

******

Once she was awake, she told them that her name was Eileen. She had been on the run for the last few days after escaping from her father, who had decided overnight that he didn't want a mutant in the house. This was odd because he had always been rather proud of her gift, the ability to glow. As Eileen told it, he had chased her out of the house and into the woods, once there she had nearly run into a man who was floating above the ground and asked her to join his brotherhood of mutants. 

He had scared her even more, and now terrified, she ran out of the clearing and blindly on her way. The night before she had climbed the fence of the Institute and curled up on the front steps to sleep, hoping that the next morning the owners might take pity on her and take her on as a cook or a maid. 

Reagan listened skeptically. This Eileen person looked awfully sunny for someone who had spent the night on cold stone steps. And she was way too happy about Logan being the first face she woke up to. After all, Reagan was sure she wouldn't want to wakeup to his face hovering a foot from hers in the morning. 

"I think I like her." Logan mumbled as the two of them walked back towards their rooms to change clothes. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye to judge her reaction. 

Reagan whipped her heard around to look at him. "What did you say?" Reagan asked him.

"I said I think I like her. Besides, I think she'll be good luck for the team. Anyone that cute has to be good luck."

"Huh. Anyone that cute has to be trouble." 

Logan smirked; glad he had gotten her goat for once. But later that week they would find out just how right Reagan's statement was. 

******

Reagan was dreaming about cannibals and bongo drums again when Logan shook her awake. 

"Huh, what?" She mumbled sleepily and blinked a couple of times. "Logan? What's going on, where are the drums?" Reagan asked confused. 

Logan decided to ignore the drum question and focus on the problem at hand. "Something doesn't smell right."

Reagan sat up and tried to shove her hair out of her eyes. "You woke me up because you smelled something bad? What are you two? 'Mommy come save me. There's a monster under the bed and he smells!" She said in a whiny little kid voice. "Come on Logan! Jeez." 

Logan grabbed her by the hand and dragged her down the hall. 

"Logan!" She hissed. Where are we going? It's the middle of the night!" They went down the back stairs, Logan dragging a protesting Reagan all the way. The professor was waiting in the den. 

"Professor, _what_ is going on?" Reagan asked. She would have said more but she was interrupted by Jean dragging Scott behind her and Ororo bringing up the rear. Everyone looked like they wanted answers. 

"Please sit down everyone and I'll explain." When they has done so the Professor continued, "I'm not sure my self what is going on exactly, but I believe we need to exit the building. I need each of you to be responsible for a group of children. You need to wake them up, keep them calm, and get them as far away from the building as possible. 

He gave them each a room assignment and sent them off. Then he focused his thoughts and tried to zero in on what the problem was. When he focused hard enough, he could almost see it, innocently sitting there under someone's bed. But he couldn't tell who's bed it was. 

******

Reagan didn't bother to go back up to her room to change clothes; it was too far out of her way. She ran to the girl's dormitory on the third floor. Turning on the light, she explained calmly what needed that everyone needed to put on some shoes and robes and move out of the building. She used her no nonsense voice and they quickly did as they were told. As one the girls went down the hall, the stairs and exited the building. As soon as they got outside they ran, Reagan mentally checking off their names in her head. Before long she realized that she had missed one. Eileen, the new woman had been put in the dormitory until a room could be cleared, and Reagan couldn't see her anywhere in sight. Just when she could have used the little glowworm too. 

"Great," Reagan mumbled. "Where has she run off to now?" In the few days that Eileen had spent with them she had gotten lost in the mansion three or four times, not to mention the countless times she disappeared into the forest and didn't come out for hours. Jean had explained that Eileen just needed some time alone to sort out her feelings after being run out of her house and chased through the woods. She also needed some time to adjust to living in a house full of people, most of them teenagers and all of them with mutant powers. Especially after having lived her whole life as an only child. Reagan just thought she had a really bad sense of direction, and Eileen seemed to be adjusting just fine to her. And she was smart. She knew that whenever she lost herself on the grounds Logan would come looking for her and bring her back. It reminded Reagan of women purposely loosing themselves in Wyoming so Harrison Ford could rescue them. 

She started to run back towards the house calling her name, when Storm floated past her and grabbed Reagan by the shoulders. 

"Stay with the others." She commanded. "I know where she is." She flew off towards the roof and returned shortly with the young woman cradled in her arms. Storm set her down and joined the other X-Men and the Professor. They were discussing what should be done when the whole place blew. 

The roof muffled the explosion, but everyone jumped and covered their faces as the windows blew out. They stated, dumbfounded, as their home was lit from within by fire before the Mansion collapsed in on it's self in a smoldering heap. Storm had already called the rain to help put the fire out. 

The house was a mess. Professor Xavier surmised that the explosion had occurred on the third floor, probably in the girl's dormitory. When that floor buckled the fourth floor and roof had collapsed in on it, causing the whole house to collapse. Reagan couldn't help but remember her earlier thoughts about Eileen, and that she had been the last person out of the house. And she had been in the room where the explosion occurred. She was staring at the heap of rubble in shock. That had been her home. For some of the kids, it had been the only home they had ever known. It was their whole world, their sanctuary, and now it was gone. She absently rubbed her arms. It was chilly outside and she was bare foot and only wearing light pajamas. Logan put his arms around her from behind and unknowingly she leaned into him. 


	9. Cabin Fever

Sorry this has taken so long. School started, and combine that with leaving all the notes for this story AND my computer at home, well, you get a long wait. But here it is, what you've all been waiting for. . . the long awaited CHAPTER NINE! YAY! And thank you to those who found and commented even though my story was, as Equus put it ON THE SECOND PAGE. Thanks so much.  
  
******  
After having spent the night on the grounds of the Institute, the X-Men and the students were not feeling so hot. Stiffness, coldness and the smell of smoke did not help the situation any. Nor did the lack of coffee. Jean started moving around some of the bigger pieces of debris and the others sifted through it in hopes of finding something salvageable.   
It was Scott who discovered that the basement levels containing the vehicles, the X-Jet and Cerebero were unharmed by the collapse of the rest of the building. This was good, because now they could all go somewhere, and Jean provided the place for them.   
"Professor, I was thinking."  
"Yes Jean?"  
"Well, we need a place to stay, preferably somewhere that all of us can fit. And we take up quite a bit of room. I was going to suggest the cabin that my family and Reagan's family shares in the Rockies. It's pretty secluded and rather large. We might be a bit cramped, but we'll all be able to stay together. Some of us would need to go now though to get it ready for us. Reagan told me that none of the family has been there in the last few years, so it might need a little work done on it."  
The Professor thought about it for a while. "Yes," he said, "I think it might work. I need you to stay here with me for a few days. Scott and Ororo can split up the children between them and go away for a while until the cabin is ready. That way whoever caused this," he gestured to the ruins of the mansion, " won't be able to wipe out everyone all at once. They were foiled this time, but we may not be so lucky another time. I'll send Reagan to the cabin, since she is familiar with it, and Logan will go to."  
Jean smiled. "Should any work need to be done it'll go faster with two people. Even if those two people are Reagan and Logan."  
"Yes, that's right. So it will go ever faster with three people. Eileen will go with them too. That way she won't be lost in the crowd again."  
  
******  
Reagan was not happy with the news. Oh, she thought using her family's cabin was a great idea, and didn't mind going to take care of the details at all. No, she was upset about Eileen. Lately Reagan and Logan had been getting along pretty well, but throw Eileen into the mix and anything might happen. Like another explosion. This one caused by herself. Especially since Logan looked mighty pleased with the arrangements.   
He claimed it was because he would finally be getting away from the smoke, which was playing havoc with his nose, and that he would have some time to teach Eileen martial arts. She wanted to learn everything he could teacher, so she claimed. Reagan just bet she did.   
It did help when Logan appeared at her window with something in his hand though.  
"Here." He said, holding it up to her.  
It was Bear. A little more worn and singed than the last time she had seen him, but it was Bear all the same.   
"It was Bear you were looking for?" She asked. Logan had been shifting through the debris along with everyone else, but he was one of the few who had looked like he had a purpose to his digging.  
He just nodded and got in the van. Eileen had to ruin the moment by mentioning that Reagan was surely old enough not to need her Teddy Bear with her all the time. And couldn't she leave it here? It was stinking up the van.   
Luckily it didn't take near as long to get to Colorado as it had the first time. And Eileen slept most of the way, which was a big help to Reagan's nerves. Just being around the girl made her jittery. This mostly had to do with the extreme look of innocence, that was perpetually on Eileen's face and the brainless questions she always asked. At lest she didn't talk in her sleep.   
They arrived in Colorado Springs late the next night and stayed at Reagan's mother's house. She was, of course, absolutely thrilled to see Logan again. She kept giving him conspiratorial winks over the kitchen table. He tried to ignore her. Reagan kept her face to her plate so she didn't have to watch the whole humiliating business. Eileen just looked wide-eyed around the table, trying to figure out what she was missing.  
  
******  
In the morning Mrs. Grey proclaimed that she needed Eileen to help her with some shopping and sent Reagan and Logan on alone to the cabin, so they could better decided what needed to be done to it, if anything. Reagan whole-heartedly approved to the arrangement, though not or the same reason as her mother. Once the van was packed full of food and tools, the two headed off into the mountains, Reagan driving.   
When they finally reached the cabin Reagan jumped out of the van, breathed deeply of the pine scented air, and headed inside to see what needed to be done. She was halfway up the stairs before she realized that Logan wasn't behind her. Peeking out the window she could see him still outside staring up at the cabin. She went back outside and dragged him in.   
"Hey!" He said. "You didn't tell me it was a castle. You said it was a cabin."  
"It is a cabin. It's made out of logs isn't it?" Reagan had been coming to visit the cabin every summer and Christmas since before she could walk, and by now was quite used to it. She forgot how it took people aback who had never seen it before. And it was no wonder. Logan was almost correct in describing it as a castle. Oh a small castle, but a castle all the same.   
Her great grandparents had built it at the turn of the century. Her grandmother missed the castles of her homeland, so her husband had built her one. The "cabin" was four stories high and even sported twin turrets on the front. Most of it had been fashioned out of wood, but the area around the basement and halfway up the first floor was all made from native rock. Inside there was a huge sweeping stairway leading up to the second floor that dominated the entryway. It was decorated with rustic furniture. Logan gaped. Reagan kindly closed his mouth for him.   
She gave him a tour of the rooms and showed him the special one nearly in the attic.   
"This room belonged to Jean and I. We wanted it to be pink. We were four." She said apologetically. "The main reason we wanted it though, was because of the view," she pointed out the window to the mountains, "and because we could get on the roof from here." She smiled. We nearly broke out necks the first time, but we never told anyone about it. It was our secret hideaway. From the roof we pried open the door to the attic and spent hours playing dress up in some of great grandmother's cast offs. The whole family used to spend Christmas here too. You think it's spectacular now, wait till you see it decorated for Christmas."   
  
******  
  
Later that day Mrs. Grey and Eileen joined them in their cleaning efforts and over the next week students arrived in small groups to fill the cabin. Professor Xavier commuted back and forth in the X-Jet so he could oversee the rebuilding of his mansion. They still weren't sure who had caused the explosion. They had ruled out Eileen as an actual suspect, though it seemed she had unwittingly planted the bomb. Most guessed it was Magneto, but was still safely stowed in his plastic prison.   
The Professor didn't seem too distraught over the whole ordeal. He tended to brush it off by saying that he had been wanting to add some things to the mansion for a while but hadn't had the time or the room. Now he could rebuild the entire place just the way he wanted it. It seemed he always had the funds needed for this sort of thing so money was no problem.  
The others thought this sounded a little odd, but went along with it anyway. They all knew that the professor was independently wealthy; they just didn't realize that he was occasionally approached by small countries asking for loans.  
  
******  
  
Ok. I'm not too proud of this one, but it's sort of a necessary evil if we want to continue. Like Episode I in Star Wars. It'll get better next time. I promise. 


	10. Of Logan and Pink Bunny Suits

Chapter 10 can you believe it? And no end in site. Muwa ha ha!

******

Everyone had been settling in pretty well at the "cabin," so things were bound to get out of control sooner or later. All of the normalcy was just asking to be ripped to shreds by a good disaster. Or a good practical joke. The disaster and the practical joke had a tug of war. The practical joke won out. 

That afternoon found Reagan, Rogue and Logan in one of the rooms serving as a girl's dormitory. Rogue and Reagan were trying, nearly in vain, to get Logan to help them with a little project of Rogue's. She was attempting to make a pink bunny suit for her home economics final and it was going to be a gag gift for one of the newest additions to the school. She and Reagan wanted Logan to model it for them so they could make sure it would bit Bunny when the time came.

It still amazed Reagan that mutants continued to show up at the door even with the entire Institute temporarily relocated to the boonies. It was like they had radar for it or something. Bunny had bounded into the front yard of the cabin a month before. Being only ten she was a lot younger than most of the rest of the kids, but they had accepted her like their little sister, even if she did look a lot like a white rabbit. That was why she had named herself Bunny. She was covered with white fur and her hair was white too. Being fond of wearing it in pigtails she stared to look like she had lop ears. And her eyes were red. Rather disconcerting until you got used to it. She stood Five feet four inches high. The exact same height as Logan and Reagan when they were full-grown. Needless to say she was going to be a bit tall when she grew up.

Logan had found himself pushed into the room by Reagan, it's important to know he was not under his own locomotion, but he stopped dead when he saw the pile of pink fuzzy material Rogue was holding out to him. 

"Oh no." He said.

"Oh yes." Reagan replied, poking him in the chest. "You said you would help us. We need you to model it for us so we can take it in."

"Come ahn Logan. Ah'm makin' a bunny suit. For Bunny. Get it? Ha ha. A bunny suit for a little girl who practically is one? It's supposed to be a gag gift for her birthday next week. The girl's an' Ah thought it might help her feel like she belongs more, to be in on a joke with us. Besides, it's not like we're going to make you parade around in it or anything." Rogue shoved the fuzzy monstrosity in to his hands and propelled him towards the bathroom with it. 

"So why does it have to be _me_ to do this?" He stopped and turned to look at Reagan. "This doesn't have anything to do with me shorting you out the other day does it?" He asked suspiciously. 

Logan had finally gotten his revenge. Reagan had been waiting to do a session with some of the younger kids when she found a bucket of water unceremoniously dumped over her head. Even in her anger, which usually fueled her electricity, she couldn't get a single spark until she had thoroughly dried out. The class had to be canceled, to the kids' delight. And squinting through the wall she had seen Logan on the other side, exiting the scene of the crime. Reagan bided her time. 

She had to laugh once she actually thought about it though. None of them had know that water would have had such disastrous results on her gift, and propping a bucket of water on top of a door so it would fall on the first person who pushed it open was one of the oldest tricks in the book. Funny how Logan would choose that one. And it was even funnier to the kids who had their session canceled.

Anyway, back to our regularly scheduled programming. What was going on? Oh yes, Reagan was convincing Logan to try on the bunny suit. 

"You're the right size." She explained to him.

"Hey wait a minute," he said, digging in his heels, "You're the right size too. Why don't _you_ try it on?" Uh oh. He was catching on. She had to think quick.

"Rogue needs me to help with the pins," she explained, "and you don't know how to do it." He started to protest, but she cut him off. "_And_ I don't trust you, in your inexperience, not to stick me. Besides, you might even do it on purpose."

Logan looked hurt, but when Reagan crossed her arms in front of her and got that obstinate look on her face he knew better than to mess with her. It had gotten him in trouble before. Between the look and Rogue's puppy dog eyes he was beaten. He reluctantly picked up the pile of pink fluff and trudged into the bathroom with it, defeated.

Reagan pulled her camera out of her pocket and hid it behind her as soon as the door closed. Rogue bumped her in the hip, "so," she asked, mischievous look firmly in place, "boxers of briefs?"

"What?!" Reagan was horrified at the very thought.

"Oh come _ahn._ We all know you can look through walls and doors and stuff. Don't tell me you never look."

"No." Reagan said quickly. Those are things I _don't_ want to know. It would be a misuse of my powers, it'd be wrong. Not to mention scary."

There were several thumps, a small crash, a muffled angry voice and a couple of other sounds the girls couldn't place. Then the door, ever so slowly, swung open, and a pair of very pink bunny ears peeped out.

The ears were followed by the rest of the bunny suit. Think of the one from _A Christmas Story. _(If you haven't seen it yet go rent it. It's a classic) Logan kind of resembled the Tasmanian devil in a bunny suit. 

"What's a matter Logan, pink not your color?" Rogue snickered. 

"Hurry up and get this finished. I feel like an idiot."

Reagan had to snicker at the picture he made. This was turning out even better than she had imagined. "You should see you." She said. "And you will too."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Logan grumbled. Then he noticed that her hands were hidden behind her back. "Hey! What're you hiding?"

"A camera of course. Smile!" Reagan took a quick picture before Logan could react. He stood there, blinded by the flash, and then took off after her. 

And promptly fell down.

He tripped over the feet of the bunny suit, which had been made a foot too long for just this purpose. 

Hearing the thump Regan stuck her head inside the door to observe the damage. She tisk tisked at him. "Come now Logan. You really _don't_ want to go running around the house in that, do you? All the kids are at lunch." This meant that they currently had the run of the house and could pop up anywhere. "And besides, we wouldn't want a rerun of the famous "Tiara Incident" now would we?" She asked sweetly. 

The "Tiara Incident" as it was now called (in capital letters no less) had become legendary in the few months since it had happened and it was something that Logan would probably _never _live down. 

In the morning several copies of the picture mad their way around the cabin. Most were shredded, but a few managed to make their way into Reagan's keepsake box. Just for posterity. They resided there with a video of the whole gory "Tiara Incident" and several other pictures of the staff and students, including one of Jean with her face green and her hair in curlers, and one of the professor wearing a shower cap as he trundled his way in the early morning towards a bathroom on the other side of the cabin. These pictures had been laughed over and forgotten, but this wasn't to be the case with poor Logan. He soon had another legendary event surrounding him. This one was known as the "Bunny Suit Fiasco."


	11. the plot thickens

It's a bit on the short side, but aren't you glad to see me back?

******

They were leaving. Six months, almost to the day after the destruction of the mansion, it had been completely rebuilt and most of the students had already left the cabin. Reagan couldn't help but feel a little sad at leaving it again. It had been fun sharing one of her favorite places with the group of people she was starting to think of as her family. 

Finally it was the last day. Reagan, Logan and Eileen were the last people to go having been assigned the task of locking up. And Logan had been acting weird lately. At least to Regan's point of view. He was prowling around a lot, popping out at her from behind doors and out of closets, and trailing her around the cabin and it's grounds. Actually, he was starting to creep her out. 

She was making one last run through the cabin, picking up last minute items left by everyone else when she heard a noise behind her. 

"Go away Logan. I'm almost done. I'll be out soon and then we can leave. You know," She continued, "your sneaking skills are getting a little rusty. I could hear you coming a mile away." She picked up a lost CD and two gum wrappers out from under the couch and placed them in a cardboard box. She heard the footsteps coming closer. Reagan was just about to turn around and give Logan a piece of her mind when something slammed her in the small of the back and she collapsed. 

"What the hey is going on!" Reagan rolled over to see Logan standing over her, smirking. And then before her eyes his form slid and shrunk, and his skin turned blue. And it wasn't Logan standing before her any more. It was Mistique. 

Reagan jumped up into a fighting stance, hands in front of her, and began to get angry. The electricity flowed into her, hidden just under her skin and bided its time. The minute Mistique touched her, she would be in for quite a jolt.

"Foolish girl. To think you could out fight me. Or even hold me off." Said Mistique. "I know all about your ability to manipulate electricity." She started circling Reagan. "All I had to do is dress accordingly." She pointed to her black body suit. "This has been engineered with fighting you in mind. As long as I wear it you can't touch me."

She lunged, but Reagan was ready for her. She threw a ball of angry purple energy at Mistique, hitting her in the shoulder. Mistique landed on the ground with a thump. 

"Several hours a week in the Danger Room prepares you for a lot Mistique," Reagan grinned at her. "Oh. Did my electricity get past your suit's defenses?" She asked innocently. 

Mistique got slowly to her feet. "Not hardly girl." She jumped and did a nifty Kung Fu trick, managing to hit Reagan in the chest with her feet, knocking the wind out of her. The electricity crackled around them and just before Reagan hit her head on the fireplace, she thought, rather distantly, that she had to get Logan to teach her how to do nifty things like that. Then darkness over took her. 

Mistique landed gracefully, several feet away, having used the momentum from the kick to carry her a good several feet out of the way should Reagan not have been unconscious. Hearing Eileen's voice calling to Reagan, she stepped near the doorway and waited for her prey to come to her. Eileen stuck her head into the room, gasped at the sight of Reagan's unconscious form, and fell, when Mistique clubbed her on the back of the head with her fist. 

Quickly grabbing her unconscious charge and slinging her over one shoulder, Mistique made for the back door. Reagan was already starting to groan in the family room, when she stepped outside. 

******

The whole time this was going on, Logan was waiting in the van. They had already warned the kids that if they left anything behind, it was going to be lost for good, 'cause he sure in Heck wasn't going to find it and bring it back to them. But Reagan insisted on checking the house one last time, and she was taking her sweet time about it. If Eileen hadn't stayed to help too Logan would have left Reagan there long ago and been half way to back to New York by now. But he was stuck there. In the van.

It wasn't until he heard the back door slam shut that it occurred to him that Reagan might be taking so long for a reason other than to annoy the heck out if him. So, grumbling, he got out of the van and stomped into the cabin. The sight of Reagan groaning on the floor by the fireplace stopped him dead in his tracks. Nostrils flaring, he sniffed the air. Mistique had been there. And she had hurt Reagan. He rushed over to her side and lifted her up. 

"Ow. Jeez Logan, take it easy. My head's killing me." 

"Are you ok?" He asked, concern in his voice. 

"Yeah. What did she want?"

"Who, Mistique?"

Reagan made a face, "No, the tooth fairy. Of _course_ Mistique. She didn't just come her to play with me. Where'd she go anyway?"

"Who cares?" Logan was still leaning over hear, eyes focused, rather disconcertingly, on Reagan's eyes the entire time. She had the oddest feeling he was going to kiss her. That was enough to stir her into action. Kissing Logan would be far too dangerous. 

"Where's Eileen?"

That got his attention, as she knew it would. 

"What do you mean 'Where's Eileen?'" He asked. 

Reagan sat up and winced as she rubbed the back of her head. She was already starting a killer headache. "I thought you were watching her." She said.

"She said she was going to come help you." Was his answer. 

"Well she isn't in here." Thank goodness. Part of the reason Reagan had come to check things in the house one last time was to get away from Eileen for a little while, before she had to spend a whole three days in the van with her endless, mindless chatter. 

"Then where is she?"

There was a muffled groan outside and a thump. 

Logan pulled Reagan to her feet and dragged her to the door. He flung it open. Mistique was leaning over an unconscious Eileen. Glaring at them she morphed into a griffin, clutched the unconscious girl in her talons and took to the sky, all before Logan was even over the threshold. He ran after her, _as though that'll help,_ Reagan thought sourly. _I wonder . . ._

"Hey Logan! She's still low enough that I can throw the energy ball at her! She'll drop Eileen and it'll be over." _And maybe Mistique will drop her on her head and knock some sense into her._

"No way. If you miss it'll kill her. We'll do it the old fashioned way. Mistique's going to be shish-ka-bob if she hurts Eileen."

__

You mean the superhero way. Big lummox. He just wants to show off in front of someone. Some things never change.

Reagan sighed, watching the odd form flap off into the distance. As much as she wouldn't miss Eileen, she knew they wouldn't just leave her in Mistique's hands. One thing plagued her though. What on Earth would Mistique _want_ with Eileen? Was there something about her even the professor had missed?

******

More soon. I hope. Review, review, review. 

Please.


	12. Who does she think she is anyway?

Huh. Looks like I've been demoted to page two again, so It's time to update. One note for Wild Wolvie Girl, Honey, Everyone's favorite Canadian isn't called "the runt" for nothing. He really is 5'4". Sorry to burst your bubble. I'm guessing you're tall. Anyway, the _actor_ may be over six feet, but the actual character is not. Check out some of the comic books, you'll enjoy them.

On with the Show!

******

Reagan checked herself out in the full-length mirror in the women's ready room. Her tight fitting black leather uniform was a little too much on the skintight side for her taste, and it made it a wee bit hard to breath, but at the moment it was all she had. The others had assured her that wearing one was a good idea because they were insulated for comfort and slightly armored. Jean and Ororo had left before she even had her uniform out of the closet, and Reagan was loath to have anyone see her in it. She poked her head out the door and saw the other senior X-Men waiting for her a little ways down the hall. 

She exited the ready room and tried to look nonchalant, as if she always wore skintight black leather. "So tell me," Reagan asked the group collectively, "do you guys actually go outside in these things?" She pointed to her uniform. 

Ororo's eyes widened and she hid a smile behind her hand, Jean grinned openly, Logan's jaw had already dropped at the sight of her and now it fell open even more at her question. Scott just looked lost. 

"But we'd never fight anybody if we didn't go outside." He pointed out to no one in particular. "Though it _is_ a pity we have to get them dirty." He patted his own suit lovingly. 

Reagan and everyone else chose to ignore this. She fixed Jean with a pointed stare. "What's so funny?" She asked, and turning to see Logan's mouth still hanging open commented, "For heaven's sake Logan, shut your mouth. It can't be that shocking." He did so with an audible _clack_.

"Well, its sort of an inside joke," Jean replied carefully, least she start laughing again. "You might not get it."

Reagan was feeling slightly peeved. She didn't like being part of an inside joke that she wasn't in on. "Try me."

"Well, it's just that those were Logan's exact words the first time he put on _his_ suit." She tried to contain her smile, but couldn't. Ororo's eyes were nearly tearing up in her effort to control herself. 

"And why is that so funny?" Reagan was clueless.

"Well, it's just that sometimes you two are so alike, it was odd hearing you use the same exact words. Ironic really."

"We are _not_ alike." Reagan and Logan said simultaneously, and then glared at each other. 

"So." Scott interrupted, "Do we all know our positions and our jobs for tonight's mission?" He asked brightly. 

There was silence and then various mumbles of consent. 

"That should be 'Yes, Oh Fearless Leader!'" Scott reminded them. 

Much eye rolling and grumbling followed Scott's attempt to be funny. 

__

Well, Reagan thought to herself,_ I guess Logan and I _do_ have some things in common. Scott annoys the hey out of both of us and neither of us can stand our uniforms. Gee, chalk that up to a whole _two _things we have in common. Woo hoo. At this rate we'll never--_

More of Scott's battle talk interrupted her thoughts, and she dutifully followed the rest of the group into the Blackbird and strapped herself in. Where they were going none of them was really sure. The professor had been having trouble tracking Mistique's mutant signature on Cerebero, and he couldn't fine Eileen's at all, which made everyone but Reagan slightly nervous. Reagan was sure that she was out there somewhere, not only alive, but thriving. And for once, annoying someone besides Reagan. 

******

According to the Professor's telepathic voice playing in everyone's ears, it was time park the blackbird. Scott brought it down a little hard, but Logan kept himself from one of his usual comments, "You call that a landing?" For fear that someone would once again compare him to Reagan, who was currently glaring at the back of Scott's head after the landing caused her to bump her own on the ceiling. 

Once they unstrapped themselves and got out, they were in a bit of a shock. They were at the maximum-security prison where Magneto was being held. 

"What on Earth are we doing _here_?" Reagan whispered, to no one in particular. 

It was the question that was running through everyone's mind. Why on earth would the Professor bring them to the prison? Surely Mistique and Eileen weren't being held here, but Mistique may have been planning a jailbreak. That made sense. But why she needed Eileen to do so was still a mystery. 

"You don't think she can manipulate plastic or something, do you?" Reagan asked

"Well, I've never hear of anything like that before," Jean answered, a little uncertainly. 

"Tell us what's going on inside Reagan." Scott suggested. 

Reagan squinted at the building a little, and the dark disappeared and suddenly everything inside came into focus. Since the lights were on there she could see perfectly well. "They're in there all right. And I can see that big long plastic tube that connects to Magneto's cell, just like the Professor told us. Mistique has Eileen backed up in a corner, and they're arguing about something. She doesn't look scared at all." Eileen was usually scarred of her own shadow, but being face to face with Mistique didn't seem to unnerve her at all. 

After giving them the quadrants where Mistique and Eileen where, Reagan stepped back and the block wall became a block wall again in her sight. She was worried about this "mission." Eileen wasn't her favorite person, not by a long shot. And everyone knew it. She remembered back to the three blissfully quite days in the car on the way back to the Institute, when she had seriously considered tracking down an address for Mistique and sending her a thank you note. Silence _was_ golden. 

She wasn't worried because it was her first mission, or anything like that, she was worried about her teammates. Even Scott, and he annoyed the Heck out of her. She knew that they couldn't just leave Eileen there with Mistique and Magneto, even though her instincts were telling to run far away and not get mixed up in this mess. Above all Reagan was worried about Logan. The men running Magneto's prison had done everything they could to keep it metal free. And well, Logan _was_ metal. Or at least his bones were plated with the stuff. She had heard plenty of times already about how Magneto had used Logan the summer before, shoot, Logan had told her the stories himself. In a vain attempt to impress her she thought at the time. 

Regardless of reasons, it was true, and Logan had been commanded by Scott to stay with the Blackbird in the event that they needed to leave in a hurry. He could only distract them and get in the way inside where they fighting was going on. The _Wolverine_ was not happy about it, but _Logan_ understood Scott's reasoning, and wasn't even grumbling about it. Well, not too much. Still, the whole thing made Reagan nervous. Whether she admitted it to herself or not, there was _something_ going on between them, though quite what exactly, was still up in the air. And she wasn't ready to give that something up until she figured out what it was. 

Scott's muttering broke into Reagan's thoughts and guiltily she remembered that she was supposed to be watching what was going on inside and giving updates. She squinted once more at the wall. "Hey, they moved. Eileen is... Dude. I don't know what she's doing. Looks like she's walking right up the wall. Who does she think she is anyway, Spiderman?" 

"Let me see," Jean interrupted her, looking through the pictures in Reagan's mind. "_That_ is really weird." She pronounced. "Her hair isn't even hanging down. Maybe she manipulates gravity around herself."

Shrugging, Reagan went back to watching. She could have sworn that Mistique was looking right at her, and for a moment Reagan felt rather naked standing there in plain sight. Plain sight from her point of view. Mistique couldn't see her through the wall. 

Eileen was walking unconcernedly up the plastic wall and stopped to peer in at Magneto. She hollered down at Mistique but Reagan couldn't hear what they were saying. As she explained to Scott in no uncertain terms, just because she could see through walls didn't mean she could hear through them too. 

******

Inside things were not going according to Mistique's plan. To begin with, the child was impossible to reason with, and she never stopped talking the entire time they had been together. From complaining that knocking her unconscious wasn't really needed as she was certainly planning on coming willingly. After all, hadn't they been planning the entire thing for almost a year? She just yammered on and on and on . . . But surely it would be worth it. Once Erik was freed their plans could continue. World domination. She liked the sound of that. 


	13. Marshmellows anyone?

Scott devised a Truly Daring Plan. 

Jean would enter the building quietly, and unnoticed. She would telepathically stun Eileen and get her out of the way. She was the loose cannon in the whole operation, and he was unsure whether she had been manipulated into the situation or had blithely gone along with it. Even he had to admit she was a bit of an airhead, though he hadn't really spent much time around her. Besides, she could have any number of unknown powers that she hadn't shown them and even if she couldn't do anything more than glow or walk walls, bright glowing could blind them all and, well, wall walking could get you just about anywhere. 

Storm would follow and engage any guards that might still be alive in the building and serve as a distraction for Mystique. 

Reagan would stay just inside the doorway, guarding it, and keeping an eye on the situation at hand. She could communicate with Jean, who would alert he and Storm to whatever might be happening.

Lastly he would follow and take out Mystique. They would turn her over to the police and take Eileen back with them to the Institute, where, hopefully, the Professor would be able to scan her mind and discover her motives for joining the Brotherhood, and any other useful information. 

Logan would spend his time keeping the X-jet ready for takeoff should they need a speedy exit. Scott felt it would be an unwise risk to allow him anywhere near Magneto, where he might be bodily picked up and used for a weapon. Logan just sneered and muttered something about Scott not being man enough to handle a little competition.

Unfortunately Scott's "Truly Daring Plan," as is often the case with most daring plans didn't, well... it didn't quite go according to plan. He had misjudged a little something called Mystique's desire to rule the world. 

Oh she had big plans. One of which was to knock off Magneto as soon as possible and take control of his little organization herself. So she fought and she fought hard. Sometime during the battle Jean telekinetically shoved Eileen to Reagan for safekeeping. Reagan just glared down at the little bundle of golden fluff and the moment she stirred, Reagan gave her a good jolt. It was highly satisfying to watch little purple lightning bolts zip through Eileen's mop of curly hair, like the electrodes in Dr. Frankenstein's lab. 

Logan's voice crackled in her ear moments later. 

"What's burning?" He asked.

Drat. She had forgotten about that sense of smell of his. "Nothing important." She hedged. "I'll put it right out." And she clamped her fingers over the frying bits of Eileen's hair. It was now slightly crispy looking, as though Eileen had had a really bad permanent, but otherwise she was none the worse for wear. Pity. Reagan wished for a good frying pan to knock her out with, but wishes do not always become frying pans. Even when one wants one very much.

"Is Eileen OK?" Logan's voice crackled again. 

"Oh she's sleeping like a baby." Reagan assured him. 

Meanwhile the fight was going on around her. Mystique was quite the acrobat, and seemingly as boneless as a cat at times. Storm's lightning bolts zipped around the area and tiny thunderstorms started here and there. Mistique continually changed shape so as to confuse her attackers, but she hadn't counted on Jean to lift her bodily so Scott could zap her with his optic beams. Once unconscious, she was little trouble. 

They dragged her bodily to the X-jet, while Reagan followed behind, making sure Eileen's head bumped everything possible on the way inside. 

What Scott hadn't counted on was Magneto's strength. He had been biding his time within his plastic prison, moving around discreet items to keep him mind active. Several blocks away, people had been wondering why their silverware wasn't always in the place they thought they had left it. So really it was a small matter to grab the bits and pieces of iron and steel Mistique had hidden away as weapons for him. His aim from inside his plastic prison wasn't very good, but the point was made. And they couldn't fight back. Zapping the walls of the plastic prison would just allow him to escape. 

He was still just as strong as before. And when he got out, the X-men would pay. And there was no doubt in his mind that he would, eventually, get out.

******

(A/N Can't you just hear the dun Dun DUN in the background? Huge thanks to all of you who have found me even though God only knows what page this story was on. I appreciate you're reviews. This semester is a doozy, hence the lack of an update in, oh I don't know. MONTHS? Yeah. Sorry about that. But, as the semester isn't quite over yet, you'll have to put up with the silence for a little while longer. Forgive me? Thanks.)


End file.
